Okay, this time the scientists have gone too far.
We all thought it was cute when they created Dolly the sheep back in 1997. We didn’t care that she was cloned. We couldn’t really tell anyway, because all sheep look pretty much the same except to New Zealanders.
But now they’ve well and truly crossed the line between what is acceptable and what should only be read about in a Stephen King novel. Of course, I’m talking about the cloning of ‘Booger’.
Booger is, or rather was (but may soon be again), the beloved pitbull of a woman in California. According to an article in the Korea Times, Booger helped her cope with her disability, probably by making her laugh uncontrollably every time she called it.
Now she’s paying South Korean firm RNL Bio $US150,000 to bring him back. (Apparently there aren’t any ancient burial grounds nearby where she can do it herself.)
Apparently the woman had refrigerated the dog’s ear tissue, which explains why no-one ever came around for dinner. Scientists extracted cells from the tissue, inserted them into ova and impregnated eight bitches. Of course, if they all give birth successfully the woman could literally end up with a house full of Boogers.
The cloning will actually be done at the Seoul National University, which must be a hell of a lot more fun than dissecting frogs. They successfully cloned an Afghan hound named Snuffy back in 2005, proving they have what it takes to re-create pets given stupid names by their owners.
According to company CEO Ra Jeongchan, they’re expecting around 500 orders from rich pet lovers in the US and elsewhere over the next few years. And that’s why we’ve got to act fast. We have to stop them going ahead with their plans, before the world is overrun by fluffy poodles and chihuahuas named Tinkerbell.
But not before Stephen King finishes his next book.